25 Januari 2011

Where have they been, all alumni of the English Department—as well as those of the FBS and Unesa? Where have they worked? Where have they lived with their families? What have they achieved in life? Or, more simply, is an old friend still alive today--even if he has already passed away, where is his grave, anyway?

A series of questions concerning the existence of alumni are always intriguing, especially for those of the old generation. Often there is failure to simply remember their names, and/or just imagine their present look or appearance. Longing for them may be a little relieved when we get informed that an old friend is still alive alright, lives in a certain town, works in a certain office, and has gained success....

News about our classmates can always be alluring—both sweet and “sour” news are welcome with a smile. We smile proudly when we hear that our old classmates, seniors, or our juniors, have achieved a certain position: a parliament member, a minister, or even a president. So is it when they become a successful farmer, a great businessman, a charismatic religious leader, or an entrepreneur. And yet, in case we hear our friends are missing teeth or have been "successful" in polygamy, we might still be “happy” enough—sure, behind our wry smiles.

By rough calculation alone, the number of English Department alumni has been great, as it is the fattest department in the Faculty of Languages and Arts (FBS). They have been working in various institutions, companies, or home industries in various regions of the country—some others working and living abroad. In fact, several of them have children who have completed their studies in the Department—and become new alumni now. There must be tens of thousands of alumni who have played their roles in various aspects of life, with their own social differentiation and stratification.

Of that number, however, how many could still greet or meet each other? Their past friendship is now merely a memory, as exposed at the beginning of this paper. There are always “business” used as excuses so that the alumni reunion cannot take place. Most of them are absorbed much in the world of works and social life. At best, they meet because of unintentional miracles--either at a wedding party, a seminar, a train station, or at a funeral procession.

Although their inter-relations are not yet close, they would be emotionally attached to this department. Pride, concerns, criticisms, and hope may be always in their minds when the institution’s name is referred or reported on any forum or media. It is this emotional bond which shows that they cannot be separated from his alma- mater.

The department-alumni relation is just like a house and its former inhabitants. How could a child forget his house, a place in which he learned life with his brothers and sisters? How could all sweet memories be forgotten easily and simply. Instead, they must have missed going home just to visit the department--or, at least, to have his diploma legalized at the faculty.

Therefore, it is a crucial momentum to (re-)accommodate all the alumni. Do not let them unrecognized. Alumni reunion has rarely been held by the Department, even by the Faculty—it was indeed held in 1990s and after that it has never been recorded again. What is getting common is that they conduct some irregular reunions amongst friends of the same department or study program.

We are talking about alumni network. The FBS (and Eng.Dept) alumni network is a forum to get all the FBS (Eng.Dept) alumni closer again—those who have so far worked in various institutions, companies, or home industries in various regions in the country. The goal is, like a mother, FBS (Eng.Dept) mediates the alumni to keep in the desired social relations, and well tied back to their "house" to take care and fix it.

With the FBS(Eng.Dept)alumni network, it is expected that they no longer simply fail to remember their names or imagined the present appearance of their old friends. With the network, communications will be developed productively. With the same network, alumni reunions and other ideas can be realized in the future.

The FBS (Eng.Dept)alumni network will revive the Alumni Association has ever existed, and in turn make the FBS (Eng.Dept) Alumni Association exist again with possible programs that are clear and measurable. The FBS (Eng.Dept) Alumni Association will work again and have an orderly and complete data-base so that the alumni will be able to do much for their own interests and welfare of the faculty or department as well.

Alumni's desire to bind themselves back into the FBS FBS (Eng.Dept)is not small. Evidently, from the experience of Department of English Language and Literature, I have attended reunions of small per batch during the last two years, and when they are encouraged to design their reunion at the department level they are very enthusiastic. In addition, www.englishunesa.com now greeted with joy. This fact is believed to probably occur as well in other departments.

This faculty website (www.fbs.unesa.ac.id) could be the "commander" of the departments’ websites to pioneer the FBS alumni network, just the way www.englishunesa.com works for the Department. In the digital natives era (where we grow and develop in line with the development of advanced technology), the alumni can be contacted to register to the website of each department and in turn connected to the faculty website.

Broadly speaking, alumni tracking and logging should be constantly carried out to obtain some orderly and complete data-base. Beside through the virtual world, we need to invite friends or seniors-juniors to join the website of each department where they used to belong. With this strategy, there would be an acceleration in the making of the FBS (Eng.Dept) alumni database.

In addition, we should also form the vertices of the alumni board in areas adjacent to one another. This is intended to facilitate better coordination between alumni and the FBS (Eng.Dept) alumni center. The alumni network, in this case, can be used to empower the FBS (Eng.Dept) alumni board and optimize the role of its members.

No less important is that the alumni network should be built on the basis of mutual benefits between alumni and the faculty (or department). Mechanisms need to be designed and constructed in such a way that the programs implemented have a positive impact for both parties, both materially and immaterially. "Mutual benefit" is the keyword that must be adhered to in building an alumni network—this is what will attract their attention.

It should be noted that in modern organizations, especially in the 21st century, networking is absolutely needed. Multi-level marketing is built on the basis of networking systems, and the results are staggering. With networking, both process and results accelerate well many times. From this standpoint, our ideas concerning the alumni network will grow and develop, probably making us smile proudly.

Prologue

Let us explore ourselves. Here is the place for self-reflection, the world of words expressing our limitless thoughts and emotions. From here we begin a small step for creative discourse and changes...

About Me

Participated in the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa (USA, 1993); and the Summer Institute in American Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (1996). Likes productive chat and discussion, as well as writing about socio-cultural concerns and creative (literary) works to mass media...